World Coronavirus Dispatch: Biden celebrates success, but urges caution

Sydney Airport gets $17 billion takeover offer, Boris Johnson to press ahead with final stage of unlocking, and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Sydney Airport gets $17 billion offer in bet on travel rebound

In what is one of the boldest bets on travel rebound, Sydney Airport received a $17 billion takeover offer from a group of investors. If it is done, it could be Australia’s largest acquisition. The suitors are seeking to capitalise on the slump in market value at Australia’s largest airport before global travel starts to pick up. While airlines worldwide have received billions of dollars in government handouts to survive the crisis, infrastructure providers like airports haven’t been helped on the same scale. Sydney Airport, Australia’s main overseas gateway, has also been smashed by one of the most restrictive border policies of the global health crisis. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 183,788,043

Global deaths: 3,977,121

Vaccine doses administered: 3,192,531,302

Nations with most cases: US (33,717,574), India (30,585,229), Brazil (18,769,808), France (5,848,171), Russia (5,544,209).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center 

Malaysia glove makers say virus curbs to hit global supplies

Malaysia’s rubber glove makers appealed to the government to allow factories in Selangor state to still operate amid tighter movement curbs that took effect on Saturday to prevent a disruption in global supplies of the protective gear. The government imposed stricter measures in Selangor, the most industrialised state, and in the capital Kuala Lumpur, which are among Malaysia’s worst-affected regions despite a nationwide lockdown. Selangor contributed about half the new daily Covid cases on Saturday. Read here

Biden celebrates success against virus, but acknowledges hurdles ahead

Joe Biden walked a fine line in striving to signal progress toward restoring normalcy while still acknowledging the dangers of a pandemic that continues to claim hundreds of lives a day. “Today, all across this nation, we can say with confidence: America is coming back together,” Biden said to a cheer from the over 1,000 guests invited at the White House lawn. For months, the White House had July 4 circled as a breakthrough moment in the pandemic, the point at which many restrictions could be lifted if the country met ambitious vaccination targets. Read here

Boris Johnson to press ahead with final stage of unlocking

Despite infections hovering around January highs, UK Prime Minister is pressing ahead with his plan to end Covid regulations after July 19. He is expected to announce that, with 86 per cent of adults in the UK having had at least a first jab, the government will move from relying on legal curbs to control people’s behaviour to letting individuals make their own decisions. The use of face masks as protection against coronavirus will become a matter of "personal choice", a Cabinet minister had said earlier. Read here